


how the world met alec mcdowell

by untitled but hiatus (let_them_be_happy)



Category: Dark Angel
Genre: Gen, Precious child, Sort of Crossover, cause I love him, mainly an excuse for me to write alec, possibly forever unfinished, vague reference to logan as tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 13:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11314668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/let_them_be_happy/pseuds/untitled%20but%20hiatus
Summary: They needed a volunteer, someone to be the friendly face of the transgenic community. Max was out of the question, she was already a political figure, plus everyone knew her story - it was the first one revealed to the world at large. Mole was also a no-go, though his was explained a little easier with a grunt and a wave of a gun - it was no secret Mole hated humans. Joshua would’ve been good, he was the first after all, but then his naiveté was taken into account and all the ways that his words could have been misconstrued and twisted against him, plus there was already a lot of bad media surrounding his image. It hadn’t even been an option for Logan, Original Cindy, or Sketchy to do the interview.So the duty fell to Alec.





	how the world met alec mcdowell

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, so, i wrote this with the intention of eventually finishing it, and that hasn't seemed to work out so far. i started this way back in december and only managed a little over 2000 words, so that doesn't speak well for my motivation.  
> un-beta'd, so any and all mistakes are my own.

They needed a volunteer, someone to be the friendly face of the transgenic community. Max was out of the question, she was already a political figure, plus everyone knew her story - it was the first one revealed to the world at large. Mole was also a no-go, though his was explained a little easier with a grunt and a wave of a gun - it was no secret Mole hated humans. Joshua would’ve been good, he was the first after all, but then his naiveté was taken into account and all the ways that his words could have been misconstrued and twisted against him, plus there was already a lot of bad media surrounding his image. It hadn’t even been an option for Logan, Original Cindy, or Sketchy to do the interview.

So the duty fell to Alec - well, he half-volunteered. When it was clear he was the only choice available to them, Alec agreed to do it. But, he said, if he was gonna do this, he was gonna do it his way. The media, surprisingly, agreed.

Sure, there was a shitton of security surrounding the building, dozens of cops and more than twice that in transgenics all there to make sure that the interview went off without a hitch, at least on that end. Whether or not Alec would play nice with the interviewer was all on him.

The interviewer was a friendly brunette named Wendy - apparently some old friend of Logan’s back from their college days. She held her hand out and smiled when she met Alec, and the smile didn’t fade as the two of them got seated for the interview. Alec tugged on his suit jacket a little nervously as he waited for the cameras to roll.

“You look fine,” a voice said from across the table, and Alec’s eyes snapped up from the tabletop just in time to see Wendy turn her attention to the first camera, where a cameraman was counting down with his fingers. Her smile went a little wider and a little faker, Alec noticed, just before the cameraman pointed at her then ducked behind the camera. “Good afternoon, Seattle. I’m Wendy Miller, and I’m here today with one of Seattle’s transgenic residents. Perhaps you’d like to do your own introduction?”

Alec cleared his throat when he spotted the red light on the camera opposite him, indicating that his face was currently being broadcast across the country, possibly across the world. “Sure. My name’s Alec McDowell, though it wasn’t always that.” He glanced away from the camera to Wendy, who nodded in encouragement. Alec took a deep breath before continuing. “My designation was - still is, in a manner of speaking, X5-494.”

Wendy shifted in her seat, leaning towards him and ignoring the prepared index cards with network-approved questions on them. Alec wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “Alec, huh? There’s gotta be a story behind a name like that,” she said, and Alec just smiled with a shake of his head. “Is there any way we could wrangle that story from you?”

Alec shook his head again, letting out a small laugh despite himself. “Sure, if you don’t mind me embarrassing our fearless leader, Max Guevara.” Wendy laughed too then, gesturing for Alec to go right ahead. “When we first met, Max and I - well, I won’t bore you with the circumstances, but Max decided I needed a name since I only had X5-494. She decided on Alec, for smart alec.” Wendy laughed again, and Alec kept smiling. “I liked it, which was a good thing since she said her next choice had been Dick.”

Going by Wendy’s laugh, Alec wasn’t doing too bad. A studio exec in a suit behind the cameras gestured for Wendy to spend less time being charmed by Alec and more time interviewing him. It didn’t take Wendy long to switch gears, though Alec could see her resist the urge to roll her eyes. “X5 - we’ve heard about the X-series before, but there’s never been any explanation offered for the naming. Do you happen to know why X?”

Alec shook his head. “No, we just knew it was - is, what we are. The numbers go all of the way from X1 to X8. We X5’s just tend to be the most popular.” He struggled to ignore the camera blinking in his face and on Wendy, but she just smiled at him with a small nod before the camera turned to her again.

“Yes, we heard about the X5’s, most notably when your friend, Max, gave her story about her escape from Manticore back in 2009.” Wendy shifted in her chair again, slightly leaning on her forearms towards Alec. “You - along with everyone not included in that original 12 - were left behind in Manticore. What was it like, after they escaped? Left you all behind?”

Alec swallowed, and it felt like Max was glaring holes into his head through the camera. “It was rough, I’ll tell you that.” He glanced at the camera again before going _screw it_. “Just as some background, before I get into this, I was cloned with another X5 who escaped with Max back in ‘09, X5-493, though Max knew him as Ben. Since I shared - share Ben’s DNA, Manticore was worried I’d go and try to escape too.” He sucked in a deep breath, trying to convey how bad it truly was without saying it. Judging by the look on Wendy’s face, Alec got most of it across. “It wasn’t a good time for the clones who happened to share DNA with those original 12.”

Wendy nodded sympathetically. “I see. I’d say I understand, but I don’t think any of us can really understand what you and the other transgenics went through at Manticore’s hands.” She shot Alec a quick smile before, regrettably, turning her attention to the cards in front of her. She gave Alec a warning glance before reading off the first question though. “What was your first experience with the outside world? Was it on a mission or something of that nature?”

Alec nodded, though he tried to cover Wendy’s sympathy with humor. “I appreciate your tact, Wendy, but I think everyone would rather hear the truth for this question - even if Max and a few others may treat me to a few well-placed punches after this because of it.” He deemed himself successful when Wendy let out a small laugh. “Yes, my first experience with the world outside of Manticore was on a mission.”

Wendy bit her lip before she asked her next question. “Can you tell us any of the details of the mission?” She shook her head a moment later. “Are you _willing_ to tell us any details from that mission?”

Alec couldn’t quite stop the smile that crossed his face when Wendy corrected herself. “I’m willing to give you as much as I can, Wendy. I can practically hear sofa springs creaking while people wait for my answer,” he quipped, just to give himself time to collect his thoughts. “I was ten when Manticore first set me out - I was the first of the clones from the rogue X5 series to be sent out into the field, so there was a lot riding on my performance. There was, uh, a foreign official traveling through the middle of Nowheresville, Iowa, and it was…it was my _mission_ to destroy the car and everyone inside.” He shrugged, trying to plaster a smile on his face. “Given that I’m still here, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I was successful.”

She nodded, though Alec could see how much Wendy hated having to bring things like this up. “Child soldiers - sounds like something out of a science fiction novel.”  
Alec spread his hands, gesturing to himself. “I was born in a test tube. Can’t get much more science fiction than that.” Wendy looked like she wasn’t sure what to do with that information, so Alec gestured for Wendy to read a question off of the cards.

“What was your role in the destruction of Manticore?”

For a second, all Alec saw was the Manticore building being consumed by flames before Wendy’s face came back into focus. He cleared his throat, and the air around them was dead silent. “I can’t say I’m too proud of the role I played in getting Max out, if that’s what you’re referring to.” Alec met Wendy’s gaze, and, for some reason, that made the words come a little easier. “Max and I were paired off as breeding partners. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. Anyway, we were paired off, and Max had already begun her efforts to escape from Manticore again. What she didn’t know was that she’d been infected with a virus to infect Eyes Only as soon as she came into contact with him again.”

Wendy gasped, and Alec would swear he heard at least three other people in the room do the same. “Was it dangerous?”

Alec nodded. “The virus was altered so that it targeted him specifically, and it was designed to kill him upon infection - namely, touch.” He glanced at the camera then and winced. “I helped Max get out of Manticore so she could get back to Seattle and infect Eyes Only.”

There was no malice in Wendy’s eyes when he looked at her again. “Were you under orders to help her get out so she could kill Eyes Only?” Alec nodded. “Okay. Well, obviously, Eyes Only didn’t die because he was still doing his hacks after Manticore’s destruction.”

“Right,” Alec said. “I told Max that there was an antidote, back at Manticore. She went back to get it, but she broadcast Eyes Only’s hack about the existence of Manticore before she did. Our director at the time had apparently created a contingency plan about what to do if Manticore was ever compromised, which it was, thanks to Eyes Only. She was to destroy any and all evidence that Manticore ever existed - including the transgenics. Max was there when she, the director, started the process and managed to get everyone out before the building blew up.”

Wendy gave Alec a look, and Alec felt like she could see through him. “I take it there are some not-so-proud moments on all sides that came out of that decision.” Alec nodded, and Wendy decided not to push, leaving the subject alone. “So, everyone was out and about. You must’ve had some feelings about that - being held and used by Manticore for the first two decades of your life only to have all of it swept out from under you.”

Alec snorted. “Yeah, I had some strong feelings about it. I thought Max was crazy for getting everyone out, but she’s got this whole team thing where she wants everyone to stick together all the time.” Judging by Wendy’s raised eyebrows, she hadn’t been expecting that answer out of him. Alec leaned on the table, throwing a charming smile on his face. “See, Wendy, that’s the difference between me and Max. Max is very good at ideals, trying to do her best to make everyone the best they can be. Me? I’m more of a realist. To be honest, I’d rather look out for myself than for anyone else.”

There was a look in Wendy’s eye that gave Alec the feeling that his answer was going to come back and bite him in the ass. “A soldier, raised from birth to do the dirty work which involves, among other things, killing people,” she said, and Alec went very still. He nodded once, trying not to let his emotions show on his face. “But here you are, defying your training to defend yourself and your fellow transgenics. Surely there’s some heart under all that charm and bravado.”

* * *

“Was there ever a time, before Manticore’s destruction, that you considered trying to escape from Manticore? A mission you disagreed with or something along those lines?”

Alec resisted the strange urge to fidget, keeping his palms flat on the tabletop. “Would you believe me if I said no?” Wendy pursed her lips, and Alec laughed a little. “No, I guess not. I wouldn’t believe me either, to be honest.” He let out a breath, and Alec realized that he was going to be honest. “There was an assignment I was sent on, two years before Manticore’s destruction. I was assigned to kill a man by the name of Robert Berrisford - people might remember him from a car accident that sent his daughter into a coma.” He winced and saw the look of understanding cross Wendy’s face. “I was ordered to go undercover and get close enough to find out what Berrisford knew and, if necessary, eliminate him. My cover was his daughter, Rachel’s piano tutor.”

He didn’t know how to continue, but Wendy seemed to understand where this was going. “She was sweet, wasn’t she?” Alec nodded, a lump growing in his throat and an ever-growing awareness that he was about to bare his heart for the entire country to see on national television. “And?”

“And I fell in love with her,” Alec said, and he suddenly realized how quiet his voice had gotten just at the very mention of Rachel. He looked to Wendy, and for some reason, the tears in her eyes surprised him. “I wasn’t supposed to, I wasn’t supposed to do anything let alone _feel_ things like love.” He swallowed, and Wendy let silence reign for a few moments. “The mission fell apart,” Alec said before Wendy could say anything. “At least, from Manticore’s perspective. Their operative was failing to complete the assignment and acting against their wishes.”

Wendy leaned towards Alec again. “There’s got to be more to it than that,” she said, glancing from the camera to Alec, giving him an out if he needed it.

Alec sucked in a breath. “You’re right, there is more to it.” Wendy let out a breath and she let him keep talking. “I planted the bomb under Berrisford’s car, and then I ran into the house to warn Rachel.” He shook his head. “She didn’t do what I told her, she didn’t get her father and run. Yes, she ran to him, but she didn’t get both of them out of danger fast enough.” Alec let out a shaky breath. “Rachel hit her head on impact and was in a coma for two years before she finally died.”

Wendy allowed Alec a few breaths before asking her next question. “What happened when you got back to Manticore?”

“Psy-Ops. Designed to make you forget, do what they want, anything to do with the mind really.” Alec blinked twice in confusion when Wendy held a handkerchief out to him, the sensation of tears running down his cheeks just processing. “It wasn’t a walk in the park, let’s just go with that.”

As she sucked in a breath, Wendy picked up the cards and tapped them on the table, cleaning them up before she looked into the camera. “Well, I’m afraid that’s all the time we have. Thank you, Alec, for coming to speak with me today.” She held a hand out to him, and Alec shook it, grateful that his hands didn’t shake like he was low in serotonin levels.

The camera lights clicked off and, before Alec realized what was happening, Wendy had managed to stand, walk around the table, and pull Alec into an awkward half-standing half-sitting hug. “Whoa, easy there, Wendy,” Alec said, awkwardly patting Wendy’s back.

She shook her head. “Sorry,” she said, pulling away slightly. Wendy carefully wiped the tears away from her eyes, laughing shakily. “I didn’t mean to make you go through all of that.” She looked up at him, frowning. “You didn’t have to tell me any of that, let alone the rest of the nation.”

Alec shrugged, a careful smile on his face. “Once you get me talking…” Wendy shook her head, sniffling miserably. He sighed, standing so they could have a proper conversation. “Listen, Wendy, you’re great, and I didn’t say any of that stuff cause I someone told me I had to.” He shrugged again. “I figured it was time to come clean. Watching Max these past few months…it’s made me think maybe I shouldn’t keep everything so bottled up all the time.”

Wendy smiled, a little weakly. “I guess you and Max aren’t so different after all.”


End file.
